Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band to Close Out Giants Stadium

Bruce Springsteen made the announcement last night (May 21st) towards the end of his first of two shows in NJ at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford. Many fans were probably expecting Bruce's usual PSA (Public Service Announcement) however they received something a bit more interesting & exciting. As the tension grew in the arena, Bruce thanked all of the fans for coming out to the show and brought up the fact that him and the E Street band have played the Meadowlands many, many times and that the IZOD Center is a good old building... Bruce also brought up that Giants Stadium will be torn down early next year and the crowd started to boo, however those boos quickly turned to cheers as Bruce announced that he and the band are going to play Giants Stadium this fall. "Before they bring the wrecking ball, the wrecking crew is coming back" stated Bruce as the crowd continued to cheer him on.

Bruce Springsteen is currently in the middle of a tour, the "Working On A Dream" Tour that has already been all around North America. Some of the places that have been visited during the first leg of the tour include Glendale, Austin, Los Angeles, Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, Greensboro, Hempstead, St. Paul, Albany, Hershey, Washington, Pittsburgh, and of course East Rutherford, NJ. Before the tour even started, the band rehearsed (as they normally do) at Asbury Park's Convential Hall which is near and dear to Bruce Springsteen. Both shows gave fans the inclination that this tour would be a big one including 24 songs the first show and 23 for the second. Average setlists for the tour have been in between 26 and 28 songs totaling nearly three hours of showtime, which Bruce has been used to for over 30 years.

Many fans always assume Bruce is going to play Giants Stadium because it's his home and he knows he'll have a great time performing there and the fans certainly pay him the respect he is deserved. Last year, 2008, during the "Magic" Tour, Bruce and the band played Giants Stadium at the end of July and sold out each show. The shows last year were epic as Bruce played 30 songs both the first and last shows, and he played 28 during the second show. The final show clocked in at just over 3 hours and 15 minutes and had fans dragging their ways out of the stadium at around 1:00 am. This was due to traffic before the concert as it didn't start until around 9:30 pm. Not only did Bruce deliver a 3 hour plus concert, but he played the Jersey favorite "Jersey Girl" towards the end of the encore right before the concert favorite "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" Fans are certainly awaiting another go-around at Giants Stadium, but it will unfortunately be the last as a new stadium is being build right next to it. I can only imagine what the sets & the performances will be like as this is historic right here. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band have sold out 56 concerts to date at the Meadowlands and hold the record as the number one selling artist at the Meadowlands (including Giants Stadium).

Let's give you a little history lesson on Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band Band, shall we? You'd think the entire band would be a lot slower than they used to be which would clearly show in their performances... Right? Wrong! As a matter of fact, and many fans have stated this & agree with what I am about to bring up here... Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band have been performing better than they ever have performed in their career, and they are doing it with most of their members in their 50s and 60s!

Let's start with "The Boss" himself... Bruce Springsteen is the lead singer/guitarist and is 59 years old (he will be turning 60 on September 23rd). Let's move onto The E Street Band... Keyboardist Roy Bittan is 59 years, keyboardist/accordionist Charles Giordano (who replaced longtime E Street member Danny Federici, who passed away due to melanoma) is 55 years old, bassist Garry Tallent is 59 years old, multi-instrumentalist (known for his extraordinary guitar work) Nils Lofgren is 57 years old, guitarist Steven Van Zandt is 58 years old, guitarist & Bruce's wife Patti Scialfa is 55 years old, violinist Soozie Tyrell is 52 years old, drummer Max Weinberg is 58 years old, and lastly we have the "Big Man" Clarence Clemons who plays the saxophone and is 67 years old. As you can see, the band; they aren't spring chickens, but their energy on stage is pure and they certainly don't play as if they are as old as they are. A little New Jersey humor, as Jon Bon Jovi says, they are not old, they are "just older."

Finally, it'd be nice if the dates were released so you know when the shows are, when the tickets go on sale, etc... Bruce Springsteen announced that himself and The E Street Band would be the final major musical act to play Giants Stadium. The current dates are September 30th, October 2nd, and October 3rd. These dates fall on a Wednesday, Friday, and a Saturday. Tickets go on sale June 1st at 10am EST.

For the last time, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will fill up Giants Stadium a few times to rock NJ like they've never rocked before. Get your tickets right when they go on sale as they will be very high in demand!

Bruce Springsteen finishes up the first leg of the "Working On A Dream" tour in NJ on Saturday, May 23rd and takes the band over to Europe from the end of May until the beginning of August. Bruce and the band will return to the states in the middle of their second "European" leg to visit Manchester, Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music Festival in the middle of June (the 13th). Once the second leg is completed, we'll find out any new information regarding a third leg, as the Giants Stadium dates have already been confirmed.